Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement: + + The contingent presentation of or the offering of something perceived as positive, desired, or valued used to increase a desired behavior.

Always functions to increase behavior. There must be a functional relationship between the behavior and the consequence (reinforcement). A maintenance or increase of the desired behavior must be observed in the future.

Negative reinforcement: - - The contingent withdraw of or the taking away of something perceived as negative or undesirable used to increase a desired behavior.

+ -Praise for sitting quietly Not getting yelled at for being

quiet

Interest in your checking account for having a certain

balance

Not having to pay a penalty for getting a bill in on time

Scoring a goal by being in the right place to catch the

ball

Not having to go into the penalty box for playing by the

rules

Getting to start a game because you worked hard

during practice

Not getting hit in the face by wearing a face mask

Rules to think about when using reinforcment

• Make the reinforcer contingent: The student must ONLY get the reinforcer after performing the target behavior. IF…then….Makes the behavior and the consequence explicit

• Make the reinforcer immediate: The student must make the connection between “doing the behavior” and the reward. Immediate reinforcement also avoids the hazard of inadvertently reinforcing an intervening behavior.

• Make the reinforcer meaningful: Different strokes for different folks…one person pleasure is another’s poison.

Types of reinforcersSocial:Smiling, a handshake, nodding yes, clapping, a pat on the back, thumbs up, “nice job”, “Way to go”, “Yeah team”, “Group 1 has finished, have you?”

Tangible:Stickers, a note home, blue ribbons, Black belt

Physical Activity:Extra minutes swimming, playing favorite game, extra minutes playing not practicing

Privileges:Squad leader, captain, collecting equipment, help teacher during study hall

Schedules of Reinforcement

Different schedules of reinforcement affect a student’s behavior

Continuous reinforcement: EVERY occurrence of the desired behavior is reinforced. Good luck! This type of reinforcement makes the student fairly dependent or satiated on the reinforcer. Use in developing a new behavior (shaping) or where the occurrence is initially low. A shift must be made to a more natural reinforcement schedule as soon as possible or extinction will occurr.

Intermittent Schedules of ReinforcementTwo types: Ratio or interval schedules and fixed and variable

Ratio schedules of reinforcement are determined by the NUMBER (ratio) of times the behavior occurs.

FIXED RATIO:

After you complete three hundred yards of warm-up…..After you complete 8/10 free throws….After you read four pages in your book

VARIABLE RATIO

In a variable ratio schedule, the student is reinforcer at an unpredictable rate. One time (series) it will be 5 or 8 or 3 or 10.

The unpredictability of the reinforcement keeps the students behavior “high” and constant, because they have no idea when the next reinforcer will come.

Interval schedules of reinforcement are based on time. One occurrence of the behavior must be exhibited during a specified period of time.

FIXED INTERVAL:After every five minutes if…….

VARIABLE INTERVAL:Similar to the variable ratio schedule in that it is unpredictable to know when the reinforcer comes.

One variation is a limited-hold contingency: A LH restricts the time that is available to receive the reinforcer after the interval has been achieved: After 5 minutes of running, you have 2 minutes to get a drink. There is a time when the reinforcer is available and when it is not.

All schedules of reinforcement are purposeful and temporary. More natural reinforcers and schedules help students to maintain behavior.

Examples of Positive ways to increase behavior

Good Behavior Game…

Good Fitness Game……

Good “Whatever” Game….

Teams are given reinforcement if they have

the fewest (or greatest depending upon the

behavior) or a team may be given the

reinforcement if they achieve the standard,

regardless of the competition between the

groups. This encourages within group

cooperation.